Super Koopalings Episode 8: 10 Years of Silence
by StarlitDuck
Summary: Iggy decides to take on his most daring project yet: a time machine! Unfortunately, it doesn't exactly work as he planned; in fact, it whisks him and Larry off into the future! Ten years into the future, to be exact! How badly has the world changed in the time? Surely not that much, right?
1. Soap Opera

Chapter 1 Soap Opera

_Man. I am aware of the fact that they are completely ludicrous and don't make a lick of sense, but despite that, I find myself being eerily drawn to these soap operas._

Granted, if somebody were to come and ask Iggy Koopa if he had been watching a soap opera, he would have denied it tooth and nail. Despite the fact that he was a koopa, he did have a moral compass and realized that being a soap opera fan fell into the "morally fuzzy" category. Or was he getting that confused with being a serial killer? Either way, he still didn't want people to uncover his secret.

"Derek," the female protagonist, Bunny, said to the gruff, eye patched guy who acted as her co-star. "I feel like...I don't know. I mean, how can I love someone who has drowned my favorite pet fish?"

"I had no other option," Derek said as he wrapped his arms around Bunny. "The pet store owners were coming for him; it was only a matter of time."

Iggy leaned closer to the TV screen. Giddy, uncontrollable chortles rose up from his throat.

"Come on, Bunny," he said as he started cramming caramel corn into his mouth. "Plant that kiss on him! You know you want to!"

Bunny looked at Derek with this overwhelming attraction toward him in her eyes. She looked like the very idea of living without him terrified her, and Iggy was eating up every minute of this cheese-dipped scene.

"Derek."

"Bunny."

The two kissed, and Iggy started jumping up and down in excitement.

"Yes! I knew she would do it! They've been building up to this moment ever since Aunt Matilda was kidnapped by the secret service!"

"Uh, Iggy?"

Iggy almost had a heart attack at the sound of Larry's voice. He tried to turn around in the most nonchalant way possible, but it is kind of hard to do that when you've just been given a bucketful of embarrassment. The look that Larry gave him was one of curiosity and amazement.

"What are you watching?"

Iggy's mind was racing at a million miles a minute. If it weren't such a mortifying scenario for him, he probably would have considered it to be humorous. He had been dreading one of his siblings finding out so much that he actually forgot to anticipate for what he would do if he ever was caught.

"I...I…"

Out of the corner of his eye, the green-shelled Koopaling spotted the TV remote. He hastily picked it up and switched off the show.

"Nothing, uh, I wasn't watching anything!" He almost kicked himself. He didn't sound confident at all; he stumbled over his words like they had made him dizzy. Even the actors in the soap opera would have shunned him for his acting. "Why...why are you here, Larry?"

"Oh, no reason," the youngest Koopaling responded. "I just wanted to see what kind of cool project you are working on now."

Iggy was a scientist; one of the best out there. He took great pride in his work and had won numerous accolades. However, he knew that Larry didn't share his enthusiasm. Some of the other Koopalings did, but Larry was definitely not one of them.

"You've never cared about my projects," Iggy stated as he raised his eyebrow. Larry responded to this with a nervous laugh.

"What? That's not true! I love your projects! I think they're great; awesome even! In fact, I think...that they are _cool_!"

Iggy's previous attempt at acting might have been atrocious, but compared to his brother he appeared to be Oscar worthy. His eyebrow rose, and Larry sighed in defeat.

"Alright fine, I want to use your TV. Mine broke."

Iggy hesitated for just a second. He could say no, just to be mean. But then again, he was not that kind of person. He was a Koopa with _integrity_.

"Knock yourself out."

Larry grinned and plopped himself down on Iggy's bed. He layed back as he began to channel surf. Iggy was just about to leave the room when Larry directed a question towards him.

"I suppose there is no harm in asking, since I did bring it up. Do you have any other ideas for projects?"

Iggy stopped in the doorway and reflected on this. In truth, he hadn't really considered going for a new project. In the past few months, he had built at least fifteen robots for the Koopa Troop army. While that was fun, it did leave him a little burned out. However, that wasn't to say that he didn't want to get something else started. The frustration that burn out brought was a tough enemy to face, but it didn't hamper the sheer joy at getting to work on something new.

"Not presently, I must admit. I've kind of been taking it slow."

"Cool," Larry said. Then, his face lit up and he sat up in bed, his attention now directed at the TV screen. "Oh sweet, I love this show!"

Iggy moved a little closer so that he could see what Larry was watching. The show's title sequence was currently playing. Iggy didn't know what the World Eight the show was, but he had to admit that it had a catchy theme song.

"Do you mind informing me about the facts pertaining to this show?"

"Oh, this is pretty awesome," Larry said. "It's called 'Meeting Myself.' It's about this kid who inherited this time machine from his scientist father. What he doesn't know is that these crooks want to steal the time machine, so he has to recruit his past selves in order to stop them…"

As Larry went into detail in a way that only the most dedicated of fans could, Iggy was staring at the television screen. He saw this goomba boy talking to who Iggy was assuming was his beanish friend. After the two characters wrapped up their conversation, the goomba lead the beanish boy over to a silver machine. It resembled a virus that was magnified under a microscope.

"Is that there time machine?" Iggy asked as he pointed to the scene.

"Yep," Larry said. "Isn't that cool? Oh watch this, the time traveling sequence is pretty legit."

Iggy stared. The two characters entered the machine, and the beanish boy pressed a button on the main control panel. The camera then shifted so that it was focused outside the capsule. A collection of colors twirled around the machine as it began to rotate. Faster and faster and faster it spun until...POOF! It was gone.

"Woah," Iggy said in amazement.

"I KNOW!" Larry exclaimed. "And this is just the first season! It looks even better after season three because that is when they got a higher animation budget."

An idea was starting to form in Iggy's mind. It was a little crazy. Some might even call it insane. However, if Iggy could do it...if he could actually pull it off…

"Are you okay, Iggster?" Larry asked once he noticed Iggy's faroff look. Iggy glanced at his brother, his eyes sparkling.

"I've just figured out what my next project is."

"Really? What?"

Iggy's grin got even brighter.

"I'm gonna build a time machine."


	2. Building Materials

Chapter 2 Building Materials

"You're gonna do WHAT?" Wendy inquired. It was the next day and Iggy had called all of his siblings into his lab to announce his next project.

"Build a time machine!" Iggy said. There was an excitement in his eyes that was so intense that someone could spot it from ten miles away. "Isn't that great?"

The others exchanged looks. Larry more or less had the same reaction when Iggy had relayed the idea to him, but with some discussion, Iggy was able to persuade the youngest Koopaling that this was the right direction to go in. He had no doubt that he would be able to convince the others in the same way.

"Oh, I don't know Iggy," Wendy said. "This seems a little…" she leaned toward Ludwig by her side…. "What's the nice word for unrealistic?"

"Ambitious."

"Ambitious?" Wendy asked as she turned back toward Iggy.

"Pfft," Iggy smirked. "Please. If I was able to graduate from college as a seven year old _and _get...a decent amount of my debt paid off, then this will be a walk in the park!"

The other Koopalings stilled looked a little skeptical. Of course, Iggy had attempted to tackle some pretty heavy challenges in the past. For example, when he was only four years old, he had discovered galaxium, the most mysterious element on the periodic table (this element could be found in the stars, star bits, and prankster comets that decorated the void of space). After all, one didn't win twelve scientific awards as a fifteen year old for nothing. Even for him, though, this seemed like a tall order.

"Well, I think it sounds neat," Lemmy chimed in.

"See? Thank you!" Iggy exclaimed. "At least someone sees the fine line between genius and insanity." Iggy started to lead the others to the back of the lab, as if he were a professional tour guide. "Now, if you are all to follow me, I will show you the materials that I will use to craft my temporal apparatus."

From behind him, Roy looked a little confused. He was about to open his mouth, but Iggy turned back around with an incredulous look on his face.

"That means time machine, Roy."

Roy's face lit up as he grasped what Iggy was trying to say. Iggy smiled. The times when Roy had done that happened so little that Iggy could count the occurences on one hand. If nothing else, he could view this as a small victory.

"Okay," Iggy pointed to a pile of cardboard boxes, stacked up as if they were used in a game of Tetris. Iggy reached up and brought a box down. Based on the amount of effort he looked to be mustering, the box didn't appear to be as heavy as the Koopalings originally thought. "Obviously, if one is going to construct as complex a structure as a time altering vehicle, they would need to utilize something strong and durable in order to craft the hull. And what better metal to turn to than titanium?"

Iggy opened the box and displayed the contents to everyone. The lustrous metal gleamed under the fluorescent overhead lighting. Lemmy put his hand on the titanium.

"Oooh, it's hard!" he exclaimed with a smile. "Is this the same material you used to make your robots?"

"The exact same," Iggy said. "It is also useful for making knives."

"I'll keep that in mind," Larry said from behind the others. Iggy was initially startled by such a statement, but quickly shook it off and started to showcase the other materials to his siblings.

"Now, I have also managed to get my hands on some wiring for the control panels, some chips so that I will be able to control the mainframe computer, some uranium because, you know, who doesn't love uranium, and, finally, a special substance that will be able to really get the show going. Wait just a second while I go retrieve it."

With that, Iggy ducked into his supply room at the back of the lab. While he was rummaging through the "chasm of death," (that was the nickname the other Koopalings had given to the storage area after Iggy had used it as an area for testing stink bombs), his siblings decided to engage in conversation.

"You don't think he's serious, do you?" Wendy asked. "I mean, a time machine?"

"Well, it'd hardly be the worst project he's attempted," Ludwig said. "Remember that time that he and I composed that song together?"

"You composed a song together?" Roy asked.

"Yeah we composed a song together."

Roy scratched his head in confusion.

"Uh, Ludwig, are you sure you aren't getting Iggy confused with Lemmy? I mean, it's totally understandable if are; I make that mistake all the time…"

"I meant who I said, Roy," Ludwig clarified. "Don't you remember that really annoying song that has a lot of 'bah' noises added in?"

"Oh...you mean that song that the koopa troopas can't not dance too? The one that makes them do a little jig every time one of the bahs plays?"

Ludwig nodded his head.

"That's the one."

The Koopalings held back giggles as they recalled the song. Years ago, Iggy had wanted to collaborate with Ludwig in order to compose a tune that was just as catchy as "The Running of the Mario Brothers," which was another one of Ludwig's crown jewels. The end result was a song so annoyingly catchy that the koopa troopa servants had to dance to it (as in they didn't have a choice). Lemmy started humming the tune to the song, and just before everybody else could tell him to shut up, Iggy came out of the storage area with another cardboard box in hand. This one appeared to be slightly heavier than the one that contained the Titanium.

"Alright," Iggy said as he set the box on the ground. "Take a gander at this."

The other Koopalings peered inside and almost giggled at the sight. The box contained what appeared to be a small pebble at first glance. On second glance, however, the Koopalings could see that it was a majestic purple in colo . It also appeared to be glowing; not brightly, but just enough for everybody to take notice. Larry looked shocked beyond words.

"Is that…?"

"Yep!" Iggy squealed with delight. "You my friends are looking at a pure, untainted sample of galaxium! I am going to use it as the time machine's main power source."

Lemmy picked up the galaxium sample and examined it. Despite his previous excitement, he too seemed to be experiencing doubt.

"But it's so small. You won't be able to use this to power anything. Unless…"

Lemmy glanced up at Iggy. His expression was a mixture of curiosity, amazement, and terror.

"Do you have anymore?"

Iggy was smiling widely. It looked to the others that his face was going to be incredibly sore later on.

"I've got twenty pounds of it."

Lemmy's terror became all the more noticeable now. Wendy also looked the same way, but unlike Lemmy she was willing to express it verbally.

"Holy cow, Iggy! Where the World Eight did you get twenty pounds of galaxium?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Iggy said with a laugh and a smug smile. Morton, who up until now had been silent on the matter, spoke up from behind Iggy.

"Black market?"

"Ebay actually, but they are more or less the same," Iggy responded. Roy approached his bespectacled younger brother.

"Iggster." He took off his sunglasses, allowing Iggy to see the concern in his violet eyes. "Are you sure you know what you are doing?"

Iggy gave Roy a warm smile. He was more than sure; he was confident. What he had said to the others about this project being a walk in the park hadn't (entirely) been a joke. Of course, he wasn't stupid; he realized that this was a bit of a long shot. But he knew that if he could do it if he was just given the chance.

"I'm positive."

Roy stared at his brother for a little bit before he put his sunglasses back on. He nodded slowly, and the other Koopalings returned Iggy's smile.

"You got this, Iggster," Larry said. Iggy couldn't help but grin.

**AN: Okay, I just want to make something clear. That song that Iggy and Ludwig collaborated on is supposed to be the overworld theme from New Super Mario Bros. ANd New Super Mario Bros Wii. And New SUper Mario Bros 2...man, that theme is used a lot. Also, "The Running of the Mario Brothers" is the overworld theme form "Super Mario Bros." This isn't the first time that I mentioned it in the "Super Koopalings" series, so I just wanted to make that clear. I hope you are enjoying the story so far.**


	3. Prototypes

Chapter 3 Prototypes

There were a couple of unspoken rules that were followed in Bowser's Castle. One was that you did not bring wild chain chomps into the throne room. Another was that you did your best to not spontaneously combust (this one was mostly directed at Ludwig as he had pyrokinetic powers, but the other Koopalings figured it wouldn't hurt to adhere to that too). But by far, the biggest unspoken rule was that you were not allowed to enter Iggy's lab while he was working on a big project.

Due to this, none of the other Koopalings got an opportunity to see Iggy's time machine. Iggy had promised them that he would show them the first prototype when it was finished, but until then his siblings were left in the dark. Each of them waited expectantly while Iggy toiled in his lab for eight days. On the ninth, the day that he was finally finished, he couldn't have been more excited.

"Eureka!" he shouted. He stepped back to admire the fruits of his labor. He had to admit, for a first try, it looked very impressive. He just hoped that the others would agree with him.

"Now, where are my siblings residing?"

Upon exiting the lab, Iggy spotted one of the koopa troopa servants and asked them to direct him toward his siblings. Following the directions given to him, he made his way into the throne room and saw Wendy, Morton, and Larry. Larry was sitting on the throne, an action that Iggy found concerning at best and disrespectful at worst. Nevertheless, he did not want this small quip to ruin the mood.

"Wendy, Morton, Larry," Iggy called each of his siblings by name as he approached them.

"Uh, that's _King _Larry to you," Larry said playfully as he got up off the throne. He pointed toward his older brother. "I demand that you be executed at once!"

"For what?" Iggy asked.

"Because I'm bored! Besides, you annoy me! I want to teach you a lesson that you'll remember!"

Iggy tried to stifle a giggle. Larry was only playing with him; that much was being made obvious by his expression.

"A good lesson. I trust I will prosper from it."

Wendy and Larry chuckled while Morton gave a slight smile. Iggy told them that the first prototype was ready, to which they excitedly hurried down to the lab. Iggy then made his way to where the servant had said the rest of his siblings were. He opened the door to the common room and saw Roy excitedly shouting. He and Lemmy had some pencils in their hands and were aiming them up at the ceiling, where Ludwig was standing. Even upside down, the oldest Koopaling couldn't help but tease the others.

"Nice try guys," he taunted. "I thought you said you were going to make a direct hit."

"It's not my fault; it's the pencils!" Roy said. "They don't...feel right."

Ludwig only nodded in response. Iggy, not having any idea what was going on, stepped cautiously into the room.

"What is going on here?" he asked.

"These bozos have been pestering me for the past half hour to get on the ceiling," Ludwig explained. "I finally agreed when Lemmy said he wouldn't talk for the next week and a half."

Lemmy smiled and gave Iggy the thumbs up before proceeding to throw another pencil in Ludwig's direction.

"Okay then," Iggy said. "Well, the prototype is ready…"

Roy and Lemmy turned toward Iggy instantly. Ludwig also came down from the ceiling with the same speed. All three looked extremely interested.

"May we see it?" Roy asked.

"Why do you think I told you?" Iggy asked. Before he had even finished the sentence though, Lemmy, Ludwig and Roy rushed out of the room. Iggy chuckled, shook his head, and followed after them.

…

"Okay!" Iggy announced as he lead the others into the lab. "There it is!"

The Koopalings gasped and stared. The time machine was spherical in shape and had an antenna of sorts on the top. Thanks to the Titanium, it was glimmering under the lab lights.

"So? What do you think?" Iggy asked. Wendy stuttered as she tried to find the right words.

"It's...it's….

"AWESOME!" Larry said. "It looks even better than the one in the show!"

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Iggy asked as he approached the machine and opened the door. "Let's do some time travelling!"

All previous doubts the Koopalings had concerning the project were gone. They rushed to the machine and eagerly stepped inside. Unfortunately, once they crawled inside the machine, their doubts immediately resurfaced. The interior was small and cramped, deceptively so considering how big the machine appeared from the outside.

"Uh, Iggy?" Roy said. "Did you mean to make it impossible to move in here?"

"Yeah," said Morton quietly. "We're like sardines in a can if the can was a marker cap."

"I designed it with one person in mind," Iggy said as he crawled into the machine. "Now, excuse me; I need to start the engine."

As Iggy tried to make his way through his siblings, the Koopalings' feeling of claustrophobia increased. As she was pressed against the left wall, Wendy shrieked.

"WHO IS TOUCHING ME!?" From beside her, Ludwig cast her an incredulous look.

"Wendy, I think the question you should be asking is who _isn't_ touching you."

From the other side of the capsule, Roy let out a squeak.

"Oh, oh! Valuable things are getting squished here!"

By some miracle, Iggy had managed to make his way to the control panel in the front. He examined the numerous amount of buttons on the dashboard.

"Okay," he said. "Now, which one one do I want…?"

Iggy pressed a baby yellow button, and a quacking sound could be heard. Lemmy giggled as Iggy searched for another button.

"No, that's not it." He pressed a green button, and a scene was projected onto the monitor.

"Oh Derek!" Bunny exclaimed. "I have always loved you!"

"And I've always loved you," Derek responded. "Especially after your third plastic surgery."

Iggy's embarrassment snagged him mercilessly as the scene played out. The others chuckled.

"Dude…" Roy said. Iggy slammed his fist down on the button and turned off the monitor.

"Uhhh...I think Junior left that on," he said. He sighed in frustration as he directed his scene back to the dashboard. "Son of a chomp! Which button is it?"

Iggy pressed a red button, and an electronic, female sounding voice could be heard.

"Initiating self destruct sequence."

"WHAT!?" the Koopalings shouted.

"Ten...nine….eight…"

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Iggy shouted. The Koopalings all scrambled to the exit and ran to the other side of the lab. Iggy was the last out, and he saw that his siblings had all ducked behind one of the lab tables. Iggy hurried to join them, and successful got there just as soon as the timer hit one. The machine exploded with an enormous boom, spewing dust and smoke everywhere. The Koopalings coughed to get rid of the dust, and stood up to get a glance of what remained of the first prototype.

"Hmm," Morton said. "Probably not best to put that in the final design."

Iggy started to hyperventilate, a typical practice of his that usually proceeded a freakout. Larry went up and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You okay, Iggy?"

Iggy stopped and inhaled deeply. He then turned to Larry and put on a smile that looked surprisingly genuine.

"Of course I am," he said. "After all, they are called prototypes for a reason."

"Really?" asked Wendy.

"Yeah," Iggy said. "Besides. I've still got a decent amount of supplies left. I can rebuild."

Not knowing how else to respond, the others nodded.

…

Bang. Bang! BANG!

"WHAT IS THAT?!" Ludwig exclaimed as he sat up in bed. He looked at his clock and saw that it was around one. He turned and saw Lemmy sitting up in his bed.

"Was that you, Ludwig?" Lemmy asked groggily. Ludwig growled and sprung out of bed. He hastily put on his blue cloak and stormed out the door. Lemmy noticed that electricity was crackling in the air, and the clock on Ludwig's bedside table was starting to burn.

"Wait for me!" Lemmy called out. He dunked the clock in a bowl of water beside his bed to put out the flame and followed his older brother into the hallway. He saw that the other Koopalings were already there.

"WHAT IN THE GOOD EGG GALAXY IS THAT!?" Ludwig screamed.

"Wasn't me," Morton said with a shrug.

"I don't know," Wendy said. She looked around the group. "And where's Iggy?"

Suddenly, the source of the noise became all the more clear to the Koopalings. Ludwig growled as blue flames climbed their way up his arms.

"Oh, he's gonna get it."

Ludwig rose into the air and flew toward the lab, the Koopalings running to keep up with him. When they arrived, Ludwig started pounding on the door furiously.

"OPEN UP, OPEN UP, OPEN UP, OPEN UP!"

The banging noises came to a stop. Roy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew," he said. "Well, it looks like we stopped…"

BAAAANNNG!

This bang was so intense that it knocked the Koopalings over. Ludwig, who had just reached his limit, fired a huge blast of fire at the door. It flew off its hinges, and Ludwig, bent on rage, entered.

"I swear Iggy, you'd better have a good…!"

The flames around Ludwig vanished, and one look at Iggy informed the other of the reason why. Iggy was leaning over a pile of titanium and sobbing.

"Uh, Iggy?" Lemmy asked. Larry approached his brother and put his hand on his shoulder.

"You okay, dude?"

Iggy let out a wail and banged his fist against the pile of metal.

"Who am I kidding! This is hopeless! I'll never build a functioning time machine!" With that, he exited the lab.


	4. Time Well Spent

Chapter 14 Time Well Spent

No one managed to go back to sleep that night. Every time one of them was about to drift off, the memory of Iggy's sobs woke them back up. It hadn't even been a particularly loud sound, nor had it been annoying. It was just...sad.

Larry in particular just couldn't get the sound out of his head, so he decided to leave his room and go for a walk. The hallway was perfectly quiet at three in the morning. Save for a few guards on the night shift no one else was awake, which was amazing when one considered the banging that had come from the lab a little over an hour ago.

Larry glanced outside a window as he walked past. While the moon wasn't full yet, the little sliver that had volunteered to make itself visible tonight was still glorious. The stars in the sky also playfully twinkled, and arranged themselves in a way so that they presented amazing pictures to the people below. The only constellation that Larry was able to recognize was the Big Dipper, but he knew that Iggy could name all of them. In alphabetical order. By heart.

_Stop it, _Larry scolded himself. _Iggy's fine. Sure, he's bummed, but this isn't the first time he's failed. There is no reason for you to be concerned._

But if that was the case, why was Larry out walking in the middle of the hallway instead of in his room?

"Dang it." Larry whispered fiercely. He couldn't believe this. He shouldn't be worrying about this. _This is Iggy's problem, not mine. Iggy's problem, not mine…_

Suddenly, the thought of Iggy leaning over a pile of scrap metal, his eyes red and his cheeks stained, reentered Larry's mind. He sighed.

_It may be his problem. But he's my brother._

Larry reoriented himself and headed to the lab. It was only when he got there, opened the door, saw Iggy stuffing scrap metal into a trash can and barely paying attention to the world around him, did Larry realize that he had no idea what he was going to say. Well, might as well start with something simple.

"Hey Iggy."

Iggy didn't turn around. He stuffed the scrap metal into the trash can aggressively, not even bothering to take notice of the fact that it was so full that a mountain was forming. Larry stepped into Iggy's line of sight, and saw that Iggy's eyes weren't wet. They didn't even look like real eyes, instead they looked like the plastic eyes of a Barbie doll. Iggy had never looked so dead inside.

"Umm…" Larry started.

"Twenty thousand coins went into buying this equipment, by the way."

Larry wasn't as shocked as he supposed he should be. The most that Iggy had ever spent on one project was about three million, so compared to that this looked like Iggy had just gone out to buy some groceries. But still, twenty thousand coins was not an amount one turned a blind eye too.

"Wow. What did you do, rob a bank?" Larry asked humorously. "It looks like we've got a new shadow thief on our hands."

Larry thought that it was a good joke, one that Iggy would be proud of. If he wouldn't laugh, Larry expected him to at least crack a smile, but he didn't even do that.

"When I make an investment," Iggy said, "I hope that it pays off." Iggy stopped and put his hand on what looked like the engine to one of the prototypes. Based on the fact that it was glowing purple, Larry guessed that there was still galaxium in it. "When I put my heart and soul into something, something that I have spent six months trying to perfect, then I want it to be successful."

Iggy rubbed the engine like it was his pet. Larry didn't know which prototype this engine went to. After the disaster of the first prototype, Iggy had gone and retried. He had built a total of thirty prototypes. They weren't as poorly constructed as the first, but none of them had even come close to allowing the Koopalings to time travel.

"Well, you gotta admit that a time machine is a pretty tall order. I mean, nobody has done it."

"That's why I wanted to be the first," Iggy said. He let out a weary sigh and rubbed his eyes. "I knew I could do it. At least I thought I could."

The defeat in Iggy's voice was heartbreaking. Iggy might not have been the most stable person, but even he had a firm resolve. That was one thing that all members of the Koopa species prided themselves for; their stubborness. Why else would Bowser always get back up and try to win Peach's heart, even after years and years of no success?

"Iggy," Larry said. "It's okay. You just bit off more than you could chew."

"But I'm supposed to be better than this!" Iggy was yelling now. His eyes weren't lifeless anymore. Instead they were lit by fury. "I'm supposed to be the one who can do the impossible! I'm not the one who pays attention to limitations; I'm supposed to take those limitations and overcome them! If I can't do that, then what am I? What am I, Larry?"

The silence that followed that question gave Larry the impression that the question wasn't rhetorical. Iggy wanted a response of some kind.

"You're…"

"Well I'll tell you what I am!" Iggy interrupted. Apparently Larry was wrong; the question had been rhetorical. "I'm just a guy who blew a fortune on a project that'll never get off the ground!" The tears were back, and they were back with a vengeance. "I spent half a year on a time machine and what do I have to show for it? Just a bunch of useless GARBAGE!"

Iggy kicked the time machine's engine, an action that proved to be a huge mistake. An array of electric bolts escaped from the vessel, shocking the Iggy and Larry. That was the last thing they remembered before they were knocked out.

…

Iggy opened his eyes slowly. He lifted his head, expecting there to be enough room to stand up. He was hit by surprise when he came face to face with a hard surface. Iggy, trying his best not to panic, tried to take in his surroundings via touch. The material that surrounded him felt strikingly like wood. While Iggy couldn't see it, he could also detect the smell of mold. Iggy started to whimper in fear. He pushed on the top of the container, and miraculously it came open. Iggy stood up and coughed. He noticed that he hadn't just come out of any container. He had come out of a coffin.

And he wasn't just anywhere. He was in a catacomb.

"Larry?!" Iggy called out. He heard muffled screaming beside him, and a chilling dread seized him.

"LARRY!" Iggy tried to find his brother's coffin, and noticed for the first time that he couldn't see. While the catacomb was lit by candles on the walls, the glasses that usually adorned Iggy's face were absent. Iggy didn't know what to make of this; what to make of any of this.

At last, Iggy managed to find the coffin. He pulled it open and out emerged Larry. His sky blue mohawk was disarrayed and covered in dust. The youngest Koopaling coughed and sputtered.

"Iggy?" Iggy sighed in relief and wrapped his brother in an embrace.

"Oh, thank the developer!" he cried. Once he let Larry go, he was close enough to his face to notice the puzzlement in his expression.

"I have...so many questions."

"I couldn't concur with your statement more," Iggy said. By habit, he reached up to adjust his glasses, only to scold himself at his forgetfulness. "I suggest we leave this place and locate our siblings. Hopefully they will be able to explain what is going on."


	5. The Monster

Chapter 5 The Monster

While they hadn't been expecting to see anything else when they emerged from the tomb, Larry and Iggy were not at all pleased by the fact that they found themselves in a graveyard. They fact that they had woken up in coffins had been disturbing enough, but this small detail was enough to put them both on edge. Larry noticed as Iggy tripped over another headstone that he was starting to hyperventilate, so he decided to lighten the mood with a joke.

"I sure hope that your eye doctor got back from his vacation."

"You can repeat that if you will," Iggy said. Larry couldn't help but roll his eyes at the convoluted way Iggy had chosen to phrase "you can say that again." "I will certainly have an interesting anecdote to recount."

Larry giggled. With some caution in their step, the two of them managed to leave the graveyard. Outside the entrance stood a large statue of Bowser (technically it was of King Cosmo the Third, but because of the cloning process performed on the royal bloodline everyone associated the statue with their current king).

"Larry, is there a plaque at the base of that statue?"

Larry approached and examined the pillar the statue rested on. It took some time, but he did manage to find the plaque, covered in a layer of dust.

"Sure is."

"Does it by any chance say what graveyard this is?"

Larry brushed away the dust and allowed his eyes to scan the plaque.

"Um...it looks like this is the Turtle's Rest."

"Turtle's Rest, Turtle's Rest ...Oh, I know where we are!" Iggy exclaimed after some brief consideration. "We are about half a mile west of Stonebrim. Once we get there, we can find someone who carries my prescription. Afterwards, we can make our way back to the castle."

Larry nodded, took Iggy's hand, and lead him along the east path. In about ten minutes, the two of them were entering through Stonebrim's west gate. Larry looked around. Something was a little off.

"Iggy, do you see this?"

"I can't even see my hand when it's two inches from my face, Larry," Iggy responded with a sardonic inflection.

"Well, this place is a wreck!" Larry said. "I know that Stonebrim isn't the most cheery of places, but it isn't _this _depressing."

Larry looked around the area, just to be able to take everything in. For one thing, the town was completely empty. Different types of garbage littered the street. The stone buildings seemed to be crumbling, and looked like they hadn't been used in years. It was possible that they hadn't, as Larry noticed that there was not a single person walking down this street. Even the wind seemed to be hesitant to enter Stonebrim, as everything was completely still.

"I don't like this," Larry said. "Oh, I don't like this one bit."

"Why do you say that?" Iggy inquired.

"Well, when we visited here, we went all over the entire town. I specifically remember seeing the west gate. And this part of town...it was different."

"Well, places change," Iggy stated.

"Yeah, but not like this," Larry said. "Not this drastically."

Since Iggy couldn't see, he couldn't really say for himself whether Larry's concerns were valid. However, the sheer amount of fear in Larry's voice was more than a little uncomfortable. Iggy began to feel a little spooked himself, so he tightened his grip on his brother's hand. Suddenly, the sound of screaming could be heard up ahead.

"What is that?" Iggy asked.

"It looks like a koopa troopa," Larry said. The koopa troopa was in hysterics, running down the pestilential street like he had just escaped a war.

"Turn back! Turn back now!"

When he was right in front of the two Koopalings, the poor troopa tripped and fell on his face. He got up and placed his hands on Larry's chest, desperation and terror leaking from his eyes.

"Turn back! He's here!"

"What are you talking about; who's here?" Iggy asked.

"The monster!" the koopa troopa said. "Turn around before he gets you!" With that, the koopa troopa hurried down the street, relaying his ominous warning to anyone who was present to hear it. Iggy turned to Larry. While he couldn't speak for Larry, he had a feeling that his face looked confused.

"The monster?" Larry asked his older brother. "What's that all about?"

"We'd better check it out," Iggy said. "It might explain why the town looks different."

Iggy and Larry made their way to the town square. They didn't see any other people, which only made their own unease multiply. In the center of the town, they only saw one other person. Based on their height it appeared to be a dragon koopa. They had their back turned to Larry and Iggy, so their face couldn't be seen. They were also wearing a royal blue cloak, and the hood was pulled up.

"What is that?" Iggy asked. The person pulled back the hood, and Larry gasped. He would recognize that hairstyle anywhere.

"It's Ludwig!" Larry let go of Iggy's hand and rushed toward the oldest Koopaling. Once he was close enough, Larry grabbed Ludwig's hand. "Ludwig, we gotta get out of here. This guy said there was a monster.."

Larry stopped speaking immediately once Ludwig turned to face him. Ludwig's eyes were glowing, which wasn't unusual when he was using his powers. Except when Ludwig was using his powers, his eyes glowed white. This time they were red.

"Well well well," Ludwig said sinisterly. "What do we have here?"

Larry let go of Ludwig's hand, terrified by the red eyes but unable to look away.

"Ludwig?"

A ball of blue fire formed in the special's hand, and he threw it at Larry. Larry screamed as he went flying backwards, and groaned when his back made contact with a brick wall.

"Larry!" Iggy screamed. He was just about to head towards his younger brother, but before he could he was lifted into the air telekinetically. Ludwig flew up to him, a cold, wicked smile on his face.

"You guys picked the wrong day to rise from the dead."

Iggy gulped. Whenever Ludwig used telekinesis to lift a sentient being, he always underwent excruciating pain. This time there was no evidence of that.

"What are you talking about?"

Ludwig threw Iggy against the brick wall. He hurt, but in truth he was more concerned about his siblings than he was about himself. He turned to Larry at his side.

"Are you okay, Larry?"

Larry lifted his head, and in a pained voice said:

"We need to get out of here."

Iggy nodded in agreement and stood up. Together, the two of them ran away. Ludwig threw fireballs and electric bolts at them, and both Larry and Iggy could see the flames smothering his body.

"This way!" Larry said. He guided Iggy down an alleyway, but before the reached the end they were stopped by a huge wall of cerulean flames. Iggy and Larry turned, and Ludwig could be seen levitating toward them.

"Ludwig? What's going on?" Iggy asked. "It's us!"

Not even bothering to address the question, Ludwig raised his flame covered hand. An electric bolt was being formed. Larry and Iggy braced themselves, fully expecting to die. But right before Ludwig could hit them, a hand reached out and grabbed Larry's right ankle. Another reached out and grabbed Iggy's left, and the two were dragged under ground.

Iggy was so shocked that he couldn't even scream. Right when he was about to, a finger was placed on his mouth.

"Don't scream." The speaker looked like a dragon koopa. "Our leader is going to see you."

Iggy looked to his right, and despite his poor eyesight, he was able to see Larry sitting three feet away.

"What is going on?" Larry asked. Iggy just shrugged.

"Stay here while I get our leader," the dragon koopa who had spoken to Iggy said. She got up and went to the other side of the room. She had to pass through a throng to do so. "Sir, we found more. Two of them, out in the town square."

Iggy could see the crowd clearing to make way for their leader. He couldn't see who it was behind the girl. However, when she stopped in front of them, he could hear Larry let out an audible gasp.

"Morton?"

_Wait, what?_ Was the only thought that was running through Iggy's head after hearing that.

"It...it can't be," Morton said.

Iggy squinted at Morton, but he still couldn't make out his brother's appearance.

"You...you guys haven't aged a day," Morton said quietly.

"Aged? What do you mean aged? Why would we age?" asked Larry.

"Well, that's what normally happens to a person after ten years," Morton said. Iggy's eyes grew wide.

"Ten years? We've been missing for ten years?"

"Not just missing," Morton said sadly. "You two were thought to be dead."


	6. Welcome to the Future

Chapter 6 Welcome to the Future

Morton guided Larry and Iggy into a separate room, away from the crowd. He closed the door slowly, and while he did Larry held onto Iggy's hand. Iggy didn't blame him; he was also feeling a little scared. He squeezed his brother's hand back, and could barely make out Morton's figure walking across the room. Morton stopped in front of what looked to have been originally used as a bedside table.

"What are you doing, Morton?" Larry asked.

"I've been holding onto these for the past decade." Morton approached Iggy and, to Iggy's surprise, handed him his glasses. "Put them on."

Iggy did as he was told. Despite the fact that they hadn't been worn in a while, the lenses were still clear. In fact, Iggy thought they were cleaner than they used to be.

"Thanks, Morton."

Morton gave Iggy a smile, and for the first time, Iggy was able to get a clear view of his appearance. His face was more or less the same. The eyes were the same, the starbite on his face was the same. Yet, it looked more gaunt than before. It looked tired, lonely, sad. Iggy looked down to study Morton's body and noticed that he had lost some weight. And that's not all; the left half of Morton's body was red, the scales appearing to be severely sunburned.

"Did you get burned?" Iggy inquired. Morton lifted his left hand and softly scratched it. To Iggy's horror, Morton looked like doing that was painful for him.

"Yeah," he said. "Ludwig and I got in a bad fight some time ago. I got scorched pretty badly; third degree burns. I'm lucky I didn't lose any limbs."

Iggy could only nod, feeling nothing but empathy and dread.

"Wait a minute," Larry said to Morton as he held his hand up. "We're ten years in the future, right? That means that you're twenty three."

"That is correct," Morton said as he nodded grimly. Larry snickered.

"Dude, you don't look twenty three." Morton gave a tiny smile, a smile of sadness.

"Well, a lot has happened in ten years," he said.

"I still don't comprehend this," he said. "How did we get here? And why did you say we were thought to be dead?"

Morton gestured to a pair of chairs at the left hand side of the room. Once they were seated, Morton took a seat opposite them. He slowly let out a hesitant breath.

"Where do I even begin?" he asked himself. "I suppose I should start with when we found you."

Iggy and Larry exchanged a look and leaned forward. Morton looked like the story he was going to tell was going to hurt him. Iggy could already see a tear building in his right eye.

"The morning after the last prototype failed," Morton began, "the five of us were in the dining hall, waiting for breakfast. We waited for half an hour and our breakfast didn't come. Neither did you guys, for that matter. We then headed down to the lab. When Wendy opened the door, the first sound I remember hearing was sort of a flickering sound, like a problematic lightbulb. Near the back corner we saw the engine, with electricity zapping on and off around it. And then we saw you two, laying with your eyes closed in front of the engine. You...you were cold to the touch." Morton sniffled and dried a tear from his eyes. His voice was starting to break. "We checked your breathing rates. After that we checked your pulses. Both of them were still."

Iggy's eyes grew wide with shock.

"So you're right; we really have died!" he exclaimed. Morton only nodded. His fist was over his mouth, and it was obvious he was fighting a losing battle with his tears. "I don't believe this!"

"Wait a second," Larry said. "Does...does this mean Iggy and I are zombies!?"

"This doesn't make sense," Iggy said softly. Larry grabbed his older brother, fear present in his eyes.

"Iggy, tell me we aren't zombies!" he screamed. Iggy tried to make sense of the scenario that Morton described. Unconscious in the lab...the engine sputtering ...wait, the engine!

"It was the galaxium," Iggy said softly. He lifted his head up and faced Morton. "I put galaxium in the engine core. When Larry and I got zapped, it must have caused us to enter a resting state! A magically sustained resting state!"

Larry let out a small gasp. Morton's eyes grew wide.

"That must be it," Morton said. "If that's the case, that would also explain why you two haven't aged!"

"Well, that's one of my questions that's been answered," Larry said. "But why did Ludwig attack us?"

Iggy stared at Morton for an explanation. Morton was shaking now, little breaths coming from his mouth. Whatever the reason, he clearly didn't want to say it.

"Well," Morton said, visibly struggling to do so, "we all took what happened pretty hard. I in particular stopped talking to the others, becoming even more withdrawn than I already was. But Ludwig...he wasn't the same since that day. He stopped eating, he couldn't sleep. He became a shell of what he used to be. I think...I think he believed most of the blame fell on him. Then, one night…"

Morton took another deep breath.

"Lemmy said that he was awaken in the middle of the night by the sound of something crashing. He went to Ludwig's bed to see if he was okay, but he wasn't there. He was in the hallway. His eyes were red; electricity and flames were wrapped around his arms like a scarf."

Morton couldn't go any further. The tears were flowing now, uncontrollably so. Larry and Iggy sat still, completely flabbergasted.

"Sleep deprivation did strengthen Ludwig's powers," Iggy recalled. Larry went up and put his hand on Morton's shoulder, a gesture that gave Morton the willpower to continue.

"Kamek said...Kamek said…" Morton sniffled again. "Kamek said...that the only thing that could bring Ludwig back was a purification spell. A week after the incident, he went to find Ludwig. He was equipped with his spellbook and wand, and he...he never came back."

It was when that was said, that those last four words were uttered by a voice that used to be strong…

"What happened to Bowser?" Larry asked quietly, weakly.

"Bowser is gone," Morton said. "Ludwig overthrew him and took the throne. I think Junior is still alive, but if he is he isn't going to show himself anytime soon. For all intents and purposes, the kingdom is Ludwig's. Whatever he is now."

"What about the others?" Iggy asked. If his sibling were gone…

"They are alright, in a loose sense," Morton said. Iggy and Larry breathed a sigh of relief. "At least Lemmy and Wendy are. I can tell you where they are, if you want to see them."

"What about Roy?" Larry asked. Morton shook his head sadly.

"He disappeared when Junior did," he said. "He said he was going to protect our prince and accompanied him out."

The relief Larry and Iggy felt was replaced by fear again.

"He is not gone," Larry said. He sounded so sure of that idea, so confident. Morton smiled weakly.

"I hope you guys are right," he said. "If there is anything I can hope for now, it's seeing him again."

Another tear fell from Morton's face, and he dried it away with his scorched, red hand.

"Morton?" Iggy asked. "Are you…?"

"I'm alright," Morton insisted. He gave his brothers a look that was sadder than Iggy thought possible on a smiling face. "Welcome to the future, guys."


	7. Second Hand Toys

Chapter 7 Second Hand Toys

A weathervane on top of a house slowly turned, directing the attention of those looking at it toward the south. Lemmy watched as it turned slowly and with difficulty, for it was an old piece. If it was up to Lemmy, he would have it taken down and replaced.

A stranger walked past his wooden crate, drawing Lemmy back down to Earth. He looked at the crate right in front of him. The toys...they were all there. Whoever had walked passed hadn't taken one. They didn't stop to buy one; they didn't even give the small koopa with a faded mohawk the respect of a glance. They had just walked passed.

Lemmy looked down on the ground, into his hat. After taking a brief moment to count the money in it, his heart sank. There were only five coins in it. Not enough to buy a loaf of bread; not enough to do anything. Lemmy knew he would have to try harder.

"Hey!" Lemmy called to a duo of teenage human boys as they walked passed. "Would you consider buying from me?"

The boys stopped and stared. One of them had a chocolate bar in their fist, half eaten. The other boy approached Lemmy's crate, seemingly interested but also seemingly malicious.

"Whatcha selling, koopa?" he questioned. Lemmy smiled, his mouth closed. He didn't show teeth when he smiled anymore.

"I've got an assortment of toys and trinkets." Lemmy picked up a stuffed cow, one that had a missing eye and mold starting to grow on the coat. "Don't you think a little sibling might enjoy this?"

The boy approached Lemmy and took the cow. Initially he showed curiosity, but upon examination and seeing just how badly mold had claimed the plushie, that curiosity morphed into content. He threw the toy at Lemmy's face, disgust claiming the outer reaches of his expression.

"My siblings would cry if they saw this," he said. He turned to his friend. "Come on Eddie, let's get out of here."

"Okay," Eddie said, with what sounded like hesitance in his inflection. He didn't follow though, just watched his friend walk down the street. Once they had turned the corner, Eddie turned back to Lemmy.

"Listen," he said quietly, "I don't have a lot of money on me right now. But I do have this!"

Eddie displayed the half eaten chocolate bar. Lemmy gawked at it, saliva starting to escape from his mouth. It has been so long since he had eaten candy.

"Why don't you have it?"

Lemmy took the candy bar, completely shocked.

"Thank you," he said softly. He smiled at the boy, this time displaying his teeth. Or, the teeth he had left. "I love chocolate!"

"As soon as I get my allowance, I'll come back here," Eddie promised. Lemmy wanted to jump with joy.

"For real?" he asked. Eddie nodded. "Oh, thank you so much!"

"Have a good day," Eddie said as he gave Lemmy one final smile. Lemmy looked at the chocolate, then at the toys that not even the mentally ill would consider purchasing. He grinned and put the bar in the pocket of his worn out coat.

"Ka-ching!" he said. He leaned down and started to rummage on the ground, trying to locate another toy. He heard someone walk up and approach the crate.

"I'll be with you in a minute; I just need to find something."

"Lemmy?"

Lemmy froze. That voice...he hadn't heard it in so long. It couldn't be, could it? No, it wasn't. He probably imagined it. Not sure what to do, he decided to test the waters to find out exactly who it was.

"I said I'd be with you in a minute," he said a little nervously, crouching in front of the crate.

"Lemmy, it's us," came another voice. This one was so distinct that there was no mistaking who the owner was. Lemmy's mouth hung open as he stood up. When he saw Larry and Iggy, he didn't know what to do. Had it finally happened, had he finally gone crazy?

"Hey Lemmy," Iggy said. Lemmy let out a frightened scream.

"Ghosts!"

"No, Lemmy, we're not ghosts," Larry said. "Or zombies, for that matter."

Larry came closer to the crate, causing Lemmy to back away in terror.

"St...stay back!" he knelt down and picked up a spray bottle lying on the ground. "I've got boo repellent, and I am not afraid to use it!"

Lemmy held the dispenser at arms length and pressed his finger on the top, causing a water like liquid to spray out of the can. Iggy looked at it skeptically for a second.

"Lemmy." He put his hand on top of Lemmy's. "It's us. We're really here."

Lemmy slowly lowered his hand and stared into Iggy's eyes. They were still the same as he remembered them, still bright and calculating and caring.

"You're...you're real," he said in disbelief. "You're real," he repeated, afraid that if he said it to little it would cease to be true. Iggy smiled.

"We are, Lems. And we're not going anywhere."

Tears started to escape Lemmy's eyes. His mouth slowly curved into a smile.

"Iggy...Larry!" he stood on top of the crate and wrapped Iggy in a hug. Iggy gladly returned it, and Larry joined in. Lemmy wept tears of joy and disbelief, laughing simultaneously.

"I missed you so much!" Lemmy cried. He tightened his grip on Iggy. This was unreal; this was a miracle.

"We missed you to, Lems," Larry said. He removed himself from the huddle, and Iggy eventually did the same. Lemmy examined them, drying the last of his tears and letting little laughs come out like he was exhaling them.

"This is amazing! You guys haven't changed a bit!"

Larry and Iggy smiled, but there was a sadness in their eyes as they looked at the second eldest. Lemmy once again became aware of his appearance; his faded, patchy long coat and rotting teeth, the colors in his mohawk washed out and almost gone completely.

"Lemmy," Iggy said gently, seriously, "what happened to you?"

Lemmy's smile slowly fell. He took a sigh and brushed the dust off his coat.

"Well...sometime back, Ludwig went berserk. All the important people had to leave the Koopa KIngdom. And right before I left, Morton told me that the best thing to do to stay safe was...was to lay low."

"So you became homeless?" Larry asked in disbelief. Lemmy nodded gravely.

"Lemmy, that's awful!" Iggy said. Lemmy stepped down and stood before them.

"Yeah." He pointed toward the crate. "I have recently made an investment in second hand toys." Larry and Iggy approached and studied Lemmy's collection of merchandise. "Well, second hand is a generous way of putting it."

Iggy picked up a toy car with a faded paint job and three missing wheels. Larry picked a jack in the box off the ground, and noticed that there was a hole where the crank was supposed to go.

"Lemmy, I'm so sorry," Iggy said.

"No, it's okay. I mean, it's not all bad." Lemmy pulled out the half eaten candy bar. "Someone gave this to me right before you arrived. And now you guys are back!" Lemmy smiled again. "This is probably the best day of my life!"

Iggy knelt down on one knee and put his hands on Lemmy's shoulders.

"Well, for what it's worth," he said with a reassuring smile, "the two of us are going to make it even better."

Lemmy's heart felt like it would burst from so much happiness. He gave Iggy a smile as his eyes started to water again.

"Thanks Iggy," he said. He wrapped Iggy in another hug, and just like before Larry joined in. The wind came from behind, and the weathervane on top of the house turned to point north.


	8. Meeting the Queen

Chapter 8 Meeting the Queen

Subcon, a powerful kingdom that dominated the desert region to the east. The people there were regarded as tough, and their king, Wart, was even tougher. So how is it that Wendy became the queen?

Iggy and Larry were about to find out. They waited on the side of the desert road. While the path wasn't paved, it was obvious that it was frequently used due to how much it had worn out.

"Why are we waiting here, again?" Larry asked Iggy.

"This road leads directly to Wart's Palace," Iggy explained. "Wendy is bound to follow it to get back."

Larry nod slightly in response. Then he noticed something in the distance. He squinted and put his hand over his eyes to block out the sun. It looked like a carriage, and it looked to be coming there way.

"I think that's her," Larry said. The two of them went down the road to cross paths with the carriage. A shy guy was the one responsible for operating the horse. And in the carriage, Wendy could be clearly seen.

"Wendy!" Iggy called out.

Wendy looked out the carriage's right window. When she saw her brothers, her eyes grew wide.

"Stop the carriage!" she called to the driver. The driver did as he was told and Wendy got out. She was wearing a white dress and a white veil. A silver tiara with an opal gemstone was holding the veil in place, and Wendy's face was heavily decorated. She wore a red lipstick instead of her usual pink, and eyeshadows of purple and blue made her eyelids look like the sky during twilight. She stared at Larry and Iggy, dumbfounded.

"Hey Wendy," Larry said.

"It...it can't be. You guys are dead!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Yeah. So we've been told," Iggy said. Wendy shook her head in confusion.

"I don't...I don't understand."

"Well then I guess that makes three of us," Iggy said. "Wendy, can you give us some help?"

Wendy was flabbergasted. She looked back at the carriage, as if asking the driver for guidance.

"Get in," she finally said. Larry and Iggy climbed into the carriage, and Wendy followed suit. The ride back to the palace was held in silence. Wendy never said a word, she just looked at her two brothers like they had fallen from the sky. Iggy and Larry were no hurry to push her either. They knew this was a lot to take in.

Wendy guided the two into the entrance hall. The ceiling was very high; as a matter of fact it was a dome with the window at the very top. This allowed light to flood the palace. The floor was polished marble, and the walls were decorated by a mural depicting the history of Subcon. In the very center of the room was a table made out of pure glass, and on that table rested a silver teapot and three matching cups to complete the set. Wendy had Iggy and Larry take a seat in the cushiony chairs around the table and served them tea. It tasted like peach.

"So," Iggy began, "Wendy…"

"I go by Persephone now," Wendy interrupted. She took a seat in an even fancier chair than the ones where Iggy and Larry were seated. "I...I still can't wrap my head around this. You two were dead! I was there when you were buried!"

"We weren't dead; we were in a state that is like cryogenic slumber, but without the ice," Iggy said.

"Wha...what?" Wendy asked, completely baffled.

"Iggy's time machine went cuckoo on us," Larry said nonchalantly as he took another sip of tea. "We got zapped by a generator full of galaxium. It put us in a coma for a decade."

Wendy still looked shocked, but understanding also flashed over her countenance. She looked down at the floor.

"That's amazing," she whispered.

"It is," Iggy agreed. Larry, who had finished guzzling his tea, placed his cup down on the table.

"Not as amazing as learning that everyone's lives have gone down the toilet. But you…" Larry gestured around the room. "Wendy, you seem to have it pretty good."

"Exactly. I mean the queen of Subcon?" Iggy said. Wendy gave a weak smile.

"It's not that great."

"How is that?" Larry asked.

"Wendy, how did you even become the queen?" Iggy asked.

Wendy adjusted her tiara and started smoothing out her dress. Her face looked...guilty? Desperate?

"Well, a few years after you guys...left," Wendy began, "Ludwig became a major threat. Bowser tried to fight him, but eventually he realized that he couldn't fight a special at full power by himself. He turned to his allies. And as all three of us know, he didn't have a lot of options there."

"Yeah," Larry snickered as he poured another cup of tea. "Kidnapping princesses destroys your reputation."

"The only one who was willing to help out was Wart," Wendy continued. "He agreed he would help Bowser protect our kingdom. However, he did it on one condition...the hand of his daughter in marriage."

Iggy couldn't believe this. Bowser was willing to give Wendy away in betrothal? Before, Bowser had said he would never force the Koopalings to do that. They were free to choose who they would marry.

"Wait a second," Iggy said. "An arrangement like that only works if both parties directly descend from royal ancestry. But you aren't related to Bowser by blood!"

"Didn't matter," Wendy said. "Wart was ignorant and Bowser was desperate. And you know what they say about desperate times."

"They call for desperate measures," Larry said grimly. Iggy leaned toward his sister.

"Did...did Wart ever find out?"

Wendy opened her mouth to answer, but before she could a booming voice rang around the room.

"Persephone!"

Wendy let out a little gasp and stood up. Larry and Iggy turned to get a look at King Wart. He was a giant frog wearing a purple coat, and he had a menacing glare.

"Your majesty," Wendy said as she curtsied. Wart narrowed his eyes.

"I thought I told you that you could not have visitors for any reason."

Wendy looked worried as Wart came closer. Larry and Iggy watched the exchange apprehensively.

"These were special circumstances," Wendy said.

"I am the one who gets to decide that," Wart said. He took hold of Wendy's hand. "Come with me."

Wart turned toward the door and started to walk. Wendy took a few steps with her hand in his, but after a look back at her brothers she pulled away.

"No."

Wart turned to her, a cold, silent rage in his eyes.

"What?"

"I...don't want to do that."

Wart approached Wendy, towering over his queen.

"You will do as you are told."

Then he struck her. Wendy fell to the floor and held her hand to her right cheek. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Get up," Wart said. Wendy did just that, and Wart put his arm over her shoulder. He turned toward the horrified Iggy and Larry. "Guards, escort these two koopas out of the palace."

He started to lead Wendy away. Two giant shy guys approached Iggy and Larry, ready to lead them out. But neither one of them was willing to let that happen.

"No!" Iggy cried.

"Wendy!" cried Larry. He got up, but the shy guys restrained him. Iggy got to his feet and ran toward Wart and his sister. They were in the hallway leading away from the room, and the door was slowly closing.

"Wendy!" Iggy cried as he raced to beat the closing door. "Wendy!"

He was too late, the door had closed. Iggy pounded on the heavy golden doors.

"WENDY!" he wailed. She couldn't hear him, and even if she could there was nothing she could do. There was nothing any of them could do. Realizing this, Iggy knelt before the door, tears starting to pour from his eyes. The shy guys approached.

"Let's go bud," one of them said as he touched Iggy's shoulder.


	9. Phanto

Chapter 9 Phanto

The sand burned underneath Iggy's bare feet. The sun scorched the land mercilessly, save for a forest in the distance. Once they were in the forest, with Wart's palace a dot in the distance, Larry decided to break the silence.

"You know, Wart does not seem like a nice guy."

Iggy just nodded. He could still see wart slapping Wendy, he could still hear the sound.

"I can't believe that things got this bad without us," Larry said. Iggy let out a defeated sigh.

"And it's all my fault."

"Oh come on, Iggster; don't say that. This was an accident."

"An accident caused by my carelessness!" Iggy shouted. Larry had to step back because of the intensity in his voice.

"Well, if we're splitting hairs…" Larry said.

"Face it Lawrence; I screwed up! I screwed things up for us, and I screwed things up for everybody else! Now the whole kingdom is falling apart!"

Larry looked into Iggy's eyes. He wasn't crying, but he did appear to be on the brink of tears. Larry, not even sure if he could keep up the optimism anymore, let out a sigh.

"Things are pretty bad," he admitted. Then he noticed something on the ground. He picked it up and examined it.

"What is that?" Iggy asked.

"It's a key," Larry said. It was made out of a red metal, beautiful and shiny. "Someone probably dropped it; I wonder where it goes to."

Suddenly, a rustling sound could be heard in the leaves. Iggy turned toward the source of the noise.

"What is that?" Larry asked.

"Oh no," Iggy said as he turned back to Larry. He looked frightened. "Larry, we're in Subcon. You don't pick up stray keys in Subcon!"

"Why not?"

"Because!" Iggy said, his voice growing in volume. "If you do, you have to face…"

A floating mask-like creature appeared in the trees. It was white on one side, red on the other, and it's face looked scary.

"RUN!" Iggy yelled. Not needing to be told twice, Larry followed his brother through the woods. They ducked behind a tree as the creature approached.

"What is that!?" Larry asked Iggy.

"It's a phanto," Iggy said. "They guard the treasures of Subcon, most commonly keys."

Larry looked down at the small key in his hand.

"So how do we get rid of it; do we just get rid of the key?"

"Yes!" Iggy shouted. "We need to dispose of the key immediately."

Larry looked out from behind the cover of the tree. Seeing that the coast was clear, he threw the key away. It flew about ten feet before landing on the mossy ground. Larry smiled.

"Good thing I like baseball," he said. Suddenly, a growling sound came from the left. Whatever creature had made it was concealed in the darkness created by the trees.

"Come on!" Iggy urged his brother. The two got to running again, fear and adrenaline keeping them from stopping.

"Look! A door!" Iggy pointed up ahead, and Larry could see a red door in a tree.

"Maybe we could hide there!" Larry said excitedly. When Iggy approached he grabbed the handle, but the door wouldn't budge.

"It's locked!" he said. Larry looked back into the forest.

"Then we need to get the key."

"Larry, wait!" Iggy cried, but it was too late. Larry had already disappeared into the woods. He found the key easily, as the shiny red metal really popped against the black soil. Larry knelt down to pick it up, and when he did he came face to face with the phanto. He held up his hand in defense.

"Nice evil mask monster," he said nervously. The phanto only approached, looking more sinister by the second. Larry braced himself for the phanto to attack, but just before that happened, something whizzed out of the forest and hit it to the ground. The phanto got up and flew away.

"That's right; you'd better fly?" Larry looked and saw a dragon koopa coming out of their shell. Their purple shell.

"You alright?" asked Roy. Once he saw Larry staring back at him, his jaw dropped. "No way!"

Iggy ran up. He gasped at the sight of his older brother.

"Roy?"

It was Roy, there was no doubt about it. While Morton, Lemmy, and Wendy's appearances had all become the victims of change, Roy still looked the same as when Iggy and Larry last saw him.

"Well remove my shell and call me beached," Roy said in amazement. He removed his sunglasses. "It really is you!"

"Oh, Roy!" Larry exclaimed. "We were worried something happened to you!"

"Oh, nothing could ever happen to me," Roy said as he put his sunglasses back on. "I'm too good a fighter."

Iggy sighed in relief. Even Roy's personality was the same.

"Roy, Morton has no idea where you are," Iggy said. Roy frowned.

"Well, that's good," he said. "That means neither does Ludwig." He gestured for Larry and Iggy to follow him.


	10. The Spellbook

**AN: Hey everyone, it's the fourth Thursday of November! For those of you who live in America, I just want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Even if you don't live in the United States, I want you to have a nice day! :)**

Chapter 10 The Spellbook

It turned out that Roy lived in a vase. To some that might sound weird, but the vases in Subcon are enchanted and very spacious. When Iggy and Larry crawled in, they found themselves in a cozy living room. There were two doors, both on opposite sides of the room.

"Do you like it?" Roy asked Iggy and Larry.

"Yeah," Larry responded. "It's cool!" Roy chuckled.

"Well, if you like that, you're definitely gonna like this. JUNIOR!"

"What?" A scratchy, teenage voice yelled back.

"Get in the living room; there's something you need to see!"

Five minutes later, Bowser Jr. was standing under the right-hand doorway. When he saw who Roy had brought into the vase, his eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"Holy COW!"

Iggy stared at Junior. Junior was eight when he and Larry left, so that meant he was eighteen now. His physical appearance definitely showed the signs of maturity too. He looked more like his late father than ever before; he was tall and muscular, his irises had changed color from black to red, and his hair was fuller. He wasn't as tall as Bowser, but on first glance he liked nearly identical. However, seeing how was a _young _adult, his face still had the smooth, cheery features of youth. He also wore a bigger version of the bib he loved to sport as a child. Upon seeing Junior's reaction, Roy laughed.

"Recognize anyone?"

Junior's mouth hung open. He tried to speak, but no words would escape from his throat. Larry decided that he should give the prince a little help.

"Hey Junior," he said with a smile. "Long time no see, am I right?"

"Uhhh," Junior said. He finally found the strength to close his mouth. "I...I guess. Why...why are you guys here? HOW are you guys here?"

"It's a long story," Iggy said. Roy turned toward him.

"Well, it's a story that we want to hear!" he said. Iggy considered it before nodding slightly.

"Okay." With that, he explained everything. Larry helped him out with the parts of the story that he accidentally skipped over. When he was finished, Junior's eyes were wider than before, and Roy's eyes were visible even underneath the cover of his shades.

"That's incredible," Junior said softly. Larry snickered.

"That seems to be a very popular opinion today," he said. Iggy took a deep breath.

"I want to try to bring Ludwig back," he said. "But that would require us to have Kamek's wand and spellbook, and I don't know where they are."

A sly grin appeared on Roy's face. He went over to a desk on the side of the room, reached into the top drawer, and pulled out two items.

"Would these be them by any chance?"

Iggy gasped. He went over to Roy, his eyes on the wand and spellbook. That's what they were alright; there was no mistaking it.

"Yes!" Iggy said as he gently took them. He looked up at Roy. "Where did you get these?"

"Well, after what happened happened, I decided that it was my job to protect everyone. I accompanied Kamek when he went to fight Ludwig."

"And you took his tools when he was defeated!" Larry said as his excitement grew. "Roy, this is great! This means the four of us can go up against Ludwig!"

"Four of us?" Roy chuckled. "That's where you're wrong champ; there are actually five of us."

Roy gestured to the door on the left hand side of the room, where a young woman stood. She had golden skin, ruby red eyes, and hair that resembled fire. She smiled.

"Hey guys."

Iggy gawked. It was Celia Patch.

"Celia?" Iggy said to the koopa-human hybrid. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Celia said nonchalantly as she came over to the group. "Roy and I are a couple."

"That's one good thing that came out of all this," Roy said as he beamed. "Celia got to become my waifu."

Larry and Iggy exchanged a look.

"Waifu?" Larry asked.

"Uh Roy, that term is at least ten years out of date," Iggy said. Roy laughed.

"That doesn't matter to me!" He wrapped his arms around Celia. "I'm still a dumb teenager at heart!" He smiled at Celia. "Besides, Celia knows she's my bae."

Iggy grinned as he shook his head. He turned back to Junior and Larry.

"Okay, so now we've got a plan," he said. "We need to get to Ludwig by breaking into the castle."

"Agreed," Junior said with a nod. Larry looked a little consternated.

"Uh, Iggy, that isn't the only reason we need to break into the castle. We also need you to fix the time machine."

Iggy was shocked when he heard that. He stared at Larry with wide eyes.

"What?!"

"We need to get back home," Larry said. "It's the only way to really fix everything."

Iggy sighed and hung his head. He couldn't do it. The time machine would never work, and Iggy had six months of endless labor under his belt to prove it.

"But...but Larry," he said. "I can't do it; the machine will never work!"

"I don't know about that," Celia said. "I mean, it brought you here, didn't it?"

"Well...no that was just the engine." Iggy sighed. "I can't fix the machine."

Larry approached Iggy and put his hand on his shoulder. He had a warm smile.

"Yes you can, Iggy," he said. "You told me that you believed you could. And now I believe that too. You have to do this, I know you can!"

Iggy looked Larry in this eyes and smiled. It was a weak smile at first, but it eventually gained strength.

"Thanks Larry," he said.


	11. A Sneak Attack

Chapter 11 A Sneak Attack

Iggy, Larry, Roy and Celia stood before Bowser's Castle. The sun was just setting over the horizon, causing dusk's shadow to fall upon the land. Everyone could see two sledge brothers guarding the entrance.

"It looks like we aren't walking in through the front door," Larry said.

"Yeah," said Roy. He looked around, scanning the group. "Wait a second; where's Junior?"

Iggy, Celia, and Larry looked around. Sure enough, the Koopa Prince was nowhere to be seen.

"The last time I saw him was in Stonebrim," Celia said.

"He must've bailed," Larry said. Iggy shook his head and sighed in frustration.

"Well, we can't give up now." He reached into the satchel at his side and pulled out a rolled up blueprint. He unfurled it, revealing a top down map of the castle's layout.

"Okay," Iggy said as the others gathered around, "here's the plan." He pointed to the right hand side of the drawing. "If I recall correctly, there is a pipe that will lead us into the castle right here. The tunnel will allow us to access the ventilation system, and we will exit it in the second floor hallway of the east wing. After that, I'll head down to the lab while the three of you take out any guards. Now, where do you think Ludwig is most likely to be?"

"Probably in the throne room," Roy said. Celia held up the wand and spellbook.

"Which is where Roy and I are going to go." Iggy nodded in affirmation.

"Excellent." He looked at Larry. "Now, Larry, what you need to worry about is staying out of danger."

"You don't have to worry about that, Iggster," Larry said. "The only thing you need to worry about is fixing the time machine."

Iggy gave Larry a small smile, one that was half worried, half confident. He took a deep breath, put the diagram back in his satchel, and motioned for everyone to follow him. The party snuck around to the east side of the castle, and found the pipe in a small dish. A brown, sludge-like liquid was pouring out of it.

"Wait a second," Larry said. "Iggy, that's a sewer pipe!"

"Indeed," Iggy said seriously. Roy put his fist to his mouth as his face turned green.

"Iggy, why…?"

"This is the best course of action," Iggy said. "I believe that every other pipe that leads into the castle is guarded, correct?"

"Uh, well…." Roy said hesitantly.

"Yes, they are," Celia finished the sentence. Iggy nodded, got on his hands and knees, and crawled into the tunnel. Roy shuddered as Iggy disappeared into the darkness.

"That is so gross," he said in disgust.

"Come on big guy, try to suck it up," Celia said as she pat him on the chest. "I used to live in a sewer, remember?"

Roy nodded a little hesitantly before getting on his belly and crawling in. Celia followed, and Larry brought up the rear. Not only did the interior of the pipe stink, but it was dark beyond belief. Luckily, Iggy had brought a flashlight, which he used to illuminate the path. It was very claustrophobic, but the deeper they went, the higher the ceiling got. Eventually, they were all able to stand up in the murky water. When Roy stepped on something squishy, he groaned and cringed.

"I can't take much more of this," he said. Iggy, with the sewer water now covering his torso, looked upward.

"You won't have to." He shined the light into a spacious chute. "This tunnel leads directly to the castle's main heating shaft." He reached into his satchel and pulled out a grappling hook. It shot up into the air, and when it grabbed hold of something Iggy turned to the others. "Everyone grab on."

Celia, Roy, and Larry all grabbed hold of the scientist. He looked into the tunnel with determination in his eyes.

"We're going up."

With that the shot up into the air. After about two minutes passed, they found themselves in a shiny, silver tube. The ceiling wasn't that high, so the party had to crouch down on their bellies again.

"Oh great; more crawling," Larry said sarcastically. Iggy disconnected the grappling hook.

"Just be thankful you aren't crawling through sewage," he said. "Now, if we go straight ahead, we should be able to find the exit."

This time, Larry lead the pack as they crawled through the tunnel. The water from the sewer clung to the Koopas' skin and Celia's clothes, making each of them squirm. Every sound felt like it was being magnified a hundred times as they trekked forward. Finally, Larry saw light filtering in through a vent.

"Larry, what do you see?" Iggy said as he, Celia, and Roy crawled up to him. "Are we above the hallway?"

Larry studied the outside. The Koopalings' bedrooms had been in the east wing, so he had walked the hallway over a thousand times. Larry sighed in relief when he saw that it was exactly the same.

"Yes," he said. Suddenly, he let out a frightened gasp. Roy, Iggy, and Celia gathered around and saw Ludwig approaching a koopa troopa guard, his eyes wicked and gleaming.

"Oh no!" Roy exclaimed. Celia put her hand over his mouth, silencing him just as Ludwig floated near the vent.

"Koopa Troopa soldier 40926, report," Ludwig said. The guard stood at attention.

"The east wing hallway is secure, sir," he said. "Nothing was spotted."

"Good," Ludwig said. "Make sure it stays that way." He started floating away, leaving the guard only with a helmet and a spear.

"Larry," Iggy said as he handed a little pod to his brother. "Drop this through the vent." He also handed little hospital masks to everyone. "Wear these and don't take them off."

Larry waited until everyone had put on their masks before dropping the teardrop shaped pod through the vent. It landed at the soldiers feet before exploding, causing the koopa troopa to pass out as the room was filled with a dark blue gas. Larry opened the vent and everyone dropped onto the red carpet.

"I used the wand to make a sleeping draft before we left," Iggy explained. "I am going down to the lab. Good luck, everyone!"

Iggy headed to the lab, and Roy, Celia, and Larry made their way to the throne room. When they got their, the saw Ludwig sitting on the throne. His head was down and his eyes were closed, indicating that he was asleep.

"Stay here," Celia whispered to the Koopalings. She held up the wand and spellbook. "I'll take care of this."

Celia tiptoed toward the sleeping special. She was hardly breathing, none of them were. When she stood before the throne, she took a quick breath.

"Alright," she whispered as she held up the wand. "Here we go. Incantus nijiro heeringu maz…"

Before Celia could say the last syllable, Ludwig opened his eyes and stared at her. Celia gasped as Ludwig took the items away telekinetically. Then held Celia aloft in the air. She kicked and struggled, grunting in pain.

"PUT HER DOWN!"

Roy ran out from his hiding place, causing Ludwig to drop Celia in surprise. Roy knelt down beside her.

"Are you alright, Celia?"

Celia nodded in response as she struggled to stand up. Ludwig smirked.

"So you finally decided to come back." He narrowed his eyes. "Were you trying to kill me?"

"You were already way past dead bro," Roy said as he stood before his brother. "What we were trying to do was resurrect you."

Suddenly, the sound of feet retreat could be heard in the hallway. Ludwig picked up Celia and Roy and through them into a cage. The door clicked, locking them in.

"Wait, Ludwig!" Celia called as Ludwig started to leave the room. "You don't want to go there!"

"Yeah, that's Larry!" Roy shouted. "You don't want to hurt Larry!"

"LARRY!" Ludwig turned toward the two of them. "IS **GONE!"** He threw a fireball at the floor, and the cage started to burn as he flew away.


	12. Time's Running Out

Chapter 12 Time's Running Out

The lab was getting closer, closer, and closer still. Larry ran, not stopping to catch his breath, not stopping to hide, not stopping for anything. He could not stop now. He was in the east wing, in the first floor hallway. There were four floors in the east wing, and Iggy's lab was on floor number two. Larry picked up the pace when he saw the staircase in sight, but before he could move another step he felt like he was being restrained. It was impossible for him to move.

Before he knew it, Larry was levitating about two feet off the ground. He tried to move, but Ludwig's telekinesis was too powerful. He kicked and struggled as he was slowly brought to the end of the hallway, near the door. When he was close enough to him, Larry could see Ludwig's eyes up close. They did not look like Ludwig's eyes; in fact, as far as Larry was concerned, they _weren't_ Ludwig's eyes. Larry's brother would never do something like this.

"Ludwig…"

"Shut UP!" Ludwig snarled. Ludwig tightened his fist, and it felt like the air was being pressed out of Larry. "You're just a ghost! I am not going to be beaten by a GHOST!"

Larry couldn't even breathe now. The scenery was going dark, the pain was too intense. Ludwig laughed in the most cold, humorless way possible.

"You know, I always thought that I'd be happy if you came back." His expression became dark as blue flames and electric bolts encircled his arms. "And yet, here we are. Do you have any last words before you die _again_?"

Larry's breathing was beyond difficult, beyond impossible. Every inhale felt like fire was entering his lungs, and every exhale felt like his body was being crushed. He forced himself to look Ludwig in the eyes.

"I know you're still in there," he said weakly. He grunted in pain, and Ludwig's entire physical form was consumed in flames. He gritted his teeth, staring at his brother like he was the embodiment of evil.

"And I know you can't win," Ludwig said. He raised his hand and held it an inch from Larry's face. Larry could feel the heat, ready to devour him whole, and he braced himself for it. Yet just before anything happened, a whizzing sound could be heard, which was then proceeded by Ludwig letting out a surprised gasped. Larry fell to the floor, and upon opening his eyes he could see the special lying unconscious on the floor.

"Larry, are you alright?"

Larry turned and saw Iggy. Iggy rushed over to him and held him in a hug.

"I thought I told you to stay out of trouble!" Iggy sounded like he was trying to be stern, but his inflection was more relieved than anything else. Larry didn't blame him at all.

"Come on," Iggy said as he released Larry. "That spell will only last for a minute at best." Even as he said it, Larry could hear Ludwig groaning on the floor. "We need to get to the lab."

…

The flames were completely surrounding the cage now. The bars were so hot that they were glowing. Roy looked to see Celia as she was cowering near the wall that the cage was leaning against. That was the only part of their prison that wasn't unbearable hot.

"What can we do?" Roy cried. Celia closed her eyes, held her arms, and shed a tear.

"I don't know," she said hopelessly. Roy knelt beside her. While his fear was unbearable, it was nowhere near as overwhelming as seeing Celia's fright.

"It's gonna be okay," Roy said in a way that he hoped sound reassuring. Celia looked him in the eyes, and amidst the blue glow of the fire, her crimson eyes looked magenta.

"This is the end, isn't it? It's game over."

"No, this is not game over," Roy said as he shook his. "This isn't the end of the game; this is just the final boss."

Roy couldn't even bring himself to deliver the last part of that sentence without his voice breaking. While he wanted to believe it with all his might, he didn't. He couldn't lie to himself, and he couldn't lie to Celia either. Celia's eyes welled with tears, and Roy cradled her in his arms. _If this is the end_, Roy thought, _at least we got to go out together._ He shut his eyes, if for no other reason then to not have to look at the fire anymore.

"Guys!"

Roy opened his eyes, and he and Celia stood up. They could see water being poured on the flames, but they couldn't see the source. When the last bit of the blue fire was gone, Roy could see that the water had come from a collection of water buckets, being held by a group of koopa troopas and dragon koopas. At least ten of them surrounded the cage.

"Make way, everyone."

Roy and Celia gawked when they saw Morton. He punched his good hand against the cage's lock, and the whole door crumpled like notebook paper. Morton moved it out of the way to let the two of them free.

"I guess it's a good thing I showed up," Morton said with a smile. Celia still stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Morton, how did you…?"

A person walked up from behind Morton. Roy and Celia could see that it was Junior, who was giving them both a playful smile.

"Did you numbskulls think you could beat Ludwig on your own?"

Roy felt like jumping for joy. He had never been so happy; he could hug Junior! He didn't, of course, but he could!

"Junior!" Roy exclaimed. "We thought you bailed!"

"What? Are you joking?" Junior said with a chuckle and a grin. "This kingdom rightfully belongs to me! I'm not just gonna leave it to rot!"

Roy and Celia flashed Junior grateful smiles. Then, Morton stepped forward.

"Junior told me your plan. Do you still have the spellbook?"

"No," Celia said as she shook her head. "Ludwig took them, and he went off to chase Larry."

Morton instantly looked concerned at the mention of Larry's name.

"Where is he?" Morton put his hands on Roy's shoulder. "Where's Iggy?"

"He went to the lab; he's gonna fix the time machine," Roy said. Morton's eyes travelled to near the throne.

"You mean that time machine?"

Morton pointed to a pile of metal, resting beside the golden seat. It was the time machine; it was dented and dormant and the engine core was resting beside it, but it was definitely the time machine. Roy felt an uncomfortable sense of fear and dread.

"Oh no," he said weakly. "We have to get to them before Ludwig does!"


	13. Revival

Chapter 13 Revival

If Iggy hadn't been panicking before, he was definitely doing it now. The only reason why he wasn't sobbing on the floor was the knowledge that Ludwig would burn him to a cinder if he did. That and Larry was urging him forward. The two hadn't exchanged a word once they had started to run, but Larry was clearly trying to reassure Iggy. He had his hand in his and was pulling Iggy along. Larry knew that they didn't have a choice, and he wanted to remind Iggy of that fact.

They got to the lab in about ten minutes, and thankfully Ludwig was nowhere to be seen in the hallway. When they opened the door and stepped inside, Iggy couldn't help but let out a gasp. The place was completely empty. The only things that were in the room were cobwebs lining the walls. Iggy shook his head in disbelief.

"My life's work," he said. "It's gone…"

Larry was equally stunned. Iggy's whole life had been in this room. It seemed to him that once Iggy "died," everyone wanted to get rid of every reminder of him. While it did make sense from the perspective of someone who was grieving, to Larry it felt wrong. It was like someone had tried to erase a part of history.

"I'm sorry, Iggy," Larry said. Iggy stepped into the center of the room, the fluorescent lights flickering up above. He turned his attention to the storage closet. The time machine had to be in there; SOMETHING had to show that this room belonged to Iggy at one point. Sadly, except for a spider spinning a web near the back, the storage closet was completely empty.

"It's not here!" Iggy exclaimed. "Nothing is here!"

Larry stepped into the room as Iggy started to hyperventilate.

"Where's the time machine?" he asked. Instead of an answer to that question, the next thing that fell on his ears was a crash coming from the hallway. Iggy and Larry emerged from the lab and saw Ludwig, his back facing them. His front was facing Roy, Celia and, to Iggy and Larry's surprise, Junior, Morton, and a chunk of Morton's rebellion.

"Iggy, Larry!" Junior called out. "The time machine is being kept in the throne room!"

Iggy was just about to question why Junior was there in the first place, but seeing how brutally everyone was fighting against Ludwig, he decided that it wasn't the right time. With Larry by his side, Iggy made his way through the crowd and ran toward the throne room. As he ran, he could smell the scent of smoke, becoming stronger the farther away he and Larry went. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the curtains catching fire, the edges of the carpet starting to turn black as they burned. Iggy looked behind and saw that Ludwig was following them. The others were doing there best to keep him at bay, but all they could do was serve as a very small, very minor distraction.

After what felt like a century, Iggy and Larry reached the throne room. Sure enough, they saw the time machine resting by the throne.

"How the World Eight did I miss that?" Larry asked in surprise.

Knowing that he didn't have nearly enough time to answer, Iggy rushed toward his invention. He knelt down beside it and pulled out a plethora of tools from the pack at his side. Once he started to get going, there was no stopping him. He worked more diligently and more quickly than he had ever worked before. On top of that, not only was he fast, but he was also careful. The amount of expertise that Iggy put into every little action was breathtaking.

Unfortunately, when he was a little more than half way done, Ludwig burst into the throne room. The others were behind him, but they looked exhausted. Morton in particular looked like he was in intense pain, especially with how half of his body was damaged beyond belief.

"Iggy…" Larry said as he looked toward his older brother. Iggy was so focused that he didn't even look up. He was in another world, he was in his element. Larry realized that was how Iggy needed to stay. If he lost his flow, he wouldn't be able to recover. Larry glanced at Ludwig, and he knew right then that he needed to get the spellbook. So, when Ludwig was facing Celia, Larry rushed forward and pinned the special to the ground.

Larry struggled against Ludwig as he squirmed. Thankfully, Ludwig was in too much shock to be angry, so that meant Larry didn't have to deal with pyrokinesis. Despite that, Larry still had to be quick, as the shock would wear off. Ludwig kicked Larry in the stomach, sending Larry across the room. With Larry on the floor, Ludwig rose in the air, balls of electricity and flames forming around his hands. He approached Larry sinisterly, an ugly growl coming from his throat. Larry was still trying to figure out what to do when Roy ran forward and jumped on Ludwig's back. Ludwig fell to the ground, and the wand and spellbook flew out of his cloak over to Larry.

"Larry, now!" Roy called. Larry picked up the spellbook, found the purification spell, and approached Ludwig, who Roy was still standing on.

"Okay," Larry said. He closed his eyes, started to wave the wand, and say the incantation. "Incantus nijiiro heeringu MAZOH!"

Larry opened his eyes and aimed the wand at Ludwig. Roy jumped out of the way just as a bright white light escaped from the wand. Ludwig screamed as the light overtook him, and everyone stared. Even Iggy stopped what he was doing and watched the scene unfolding. The light then grew to fill the entire room, and then...silence.

When the light had completely disappeared from the room, Iggy approached the group. Larry was kneeling on the ground, panting at the amount of effort he had to exert to cast the spell.

"Are you alright, Larry?" Iggy asked. Larry nodded.

"Yes," he said as Iggy helped him up. "I'm fine."

Iggy then directed his attention to Ludwig. The special was lying on the ground, his eyes shut. Morton and Larry knelt beside him, while everyone else watched in worry.

"Ludwig?" Morton asked. Ludwig started to stir.

"Ludwig, can you hear me?" Roy asked. Ludwig groaned as he sat up. He opened his eyes, the red light absent.

"Where...where am I?"

Morton smiled.

"He's back."

Iggy felt relief and joy wash over him simultaneously. Junior and Celia looked ecstatic, and Larry was doing a little victory fist pump.

"What happened?" Ludwig asked in confusion as he turned to Roy. Roy laughed.

"Oh, a lot of stuff happened man; you should have been there!"

Ludwig turned to Morton, and his eyes grew wide.

"Morton, did I do that to you?"

"Oh," Morton said as he held up his left hand. "Well, yeah." He put on a little smile. "But that's not important right now. There are some people you need to see."

Roy gestured to Iggy and Larry, and when Ludwig saw them he just stared. His mouth hung open in shock, his eyes wide. Iggy gave Ludwig a little smile, and Larry, a little wave.

"What?" Ludwig asked as he got to his feet. He approached his brothers. "I...I'm dreaming. I have got to be dreaming!"

Larry shook his head.

"You're not!" he said.

"It's good to have you back, Ludwig," Iggy said. Ludwig's eyes started to water.

"Oh my word!" he said. He held Iggy in a hug. Like with Lemmy, tears poured from his eyes as he held onto his sibling. After a little bit, Ludwig let Iggy go and gave Larry a hug. This allowed Iggy to see that despite the fact that he was crying, Ludwig was also smiling.

"This is incredible!" Ludwig exclaimed. His inflection sounded simultaneously happy, shocked, sad, and amazed all at once. He let Larry go and turned to Iggy. "But...how is this possible?"

"Uhhh," Iggy said, "do you remember when I was working on the time machine project?"

"Of course I do; how could I forget?" Ludwig said.

"Well, I was talking to Larry in the lab the night the last one failed. And I _may _have kicked the galaxium filled engine core."

Ludwig looked shocked as he turned to Larry.

"Is he serious?" Ludwig asked. Larry laughed.

"Oh, he's serious alright!" he said. "We got shocked by the galaxium, which basically put us in a coma for a decade."

Ludwig put his hand to his head, trying to comprehend this.

"Wait wait wait, so let me get this straight." He turned back to Iggy. "You, _you_ of all people, decided to kick an engine filled with one of the most powerful and dangerous substances _in the universe_?"

Iggy chuckled sheepishly, the corners of his mouth turning into an embarrassed smile.

"Pretty much."

Ludwig stared at his younger brother in disbelief. Then he shook his head and chuckled.

"You're a moron." He didn't sound malicious though; in fact the playful smile on his face helped to sell the fact that he wasn't malicious. "You are such a moron!"

Ludwig chuckled as he hugged Iggy again. Tears started to reappear as he let out a content breath.

"I missed you guys so much," he said. He let Iggy go and smiled at him for a second, his eyes shining with joy. Then his expression shifted into concern.

"Wait a minute. You guys just missed out on ten years of your lives!"

"Yes," Iggy said. He looked back at the time machine, which was only three quarters of the way done. "And I want to try and fix that. Do you think you guys could help me fix the time machine?"

Iggy looked at everyone in the room as he put the question forward. After a second, everyone agreed to help.


	14. Back in the Past

Chapter 14 Back in the Past

Iggy hadn't really needed help with fixing the time machine, at least not as much as he had originally implied. In fact, the others did almost nothing to help, at most providing emotional support. But Iggy realized as he worked that that was probably the biggest favor that they could do for him in this current moment.

Besides providing emotional support, the others had also recalled some stories that had occurred during Larry and Iggy's absence. Most of them were just going into more detail regarding the direct results of the trauma, but others were genuinely happy. Junior, Roy, and Celia in particular even laughed a little bit over the memories they had forged together. On top of that, it was obvious that Morton had formed real bonds with the people he had made alliances with.

Unfortunately, there was one who did not join in on the conversations: Ludwig. After the initial purification, he had no real memories of what happened after his corruption. But slowly, little by little, those experiences started to come back. While Ludwig did try to keep himself busy by providing Iggy some technical advice, Iggy knew that Ludwig was having troubling getting out of his own head. The knowledge that you had single handedly wiped out your father and destroyed a kingdom was not an easy monster to wrestle.

That little detail was what gave Iggy the urge to keep going. He was still unsure of himself, but now he had a reason to finish the time machine. Now he wasn't just doing it for himself; he was doing it for Ludwig. And Larry. And Roy and Morton and Celia and Junior; he was doing it for everyone.

"Okay," Iggy said as he put the last piece of Titanium on the hull. "That should do it."

The time machine didn't look that impressive, but that was understandable. Iggy turned to Larry and gave him a weak smile.

"You ready?"

Larry nodded firmly. Morton approached Iggy, his eyes a melting pot of all sorts of emotions.

"So you're really leaving." That wasn't a question made by Morton, it was an observation.

"If we want to prevent this from happening in the first place," Iggy said, "then we have to."

Morton gave a small nod, a weak one. Iggy approached him and hugged him, allowing the air around them to be silent and still. Eventually Roy and Larry got in on the hug, soon followed by Ludwig. Junior and Celia, while they were directly affected by all of this, felt it was appropriate to just watch. The Koopalings had just been reunited, and now they were going to be separated again. Permanently.

"I am so sorry," Iggy said, his voice breaking.

"No Iggy; this wasn't your fault," Ludwig said. He held on tighter, all of them did. All of them wanted this memory to be engrained in their heads. Eventually, Morton pulled away.

"You guys need to go."

Ludwig and Roy pulled away as well, causing the huddle to unravel. Iggy and Larry faced them, giving them all one last reassuring smile.

"See you in the past," Ludwig said, giving a smile that did look genuinely content.

"Oh, and tell sixteen year old me I said hi," Roy said. "He'll know what I mean."

"Alright," Larry said with a laugh. Together, Iggy and Larry stepped into the time machine. With the flip of a switch, the interior of the place lit up, and Larry took a seat in the center of the room. Iggy got to work on maintaining the controls.

"All set, Iggster?" Larry asked as Iggy took a seat.

"Yep, we are good to to go," Iggy said. He held onto the steering wheel. "Oh man, I really hope this doesn't turn us inside out."

"WHAT?!" Larry yelled. Iggy laughed.

"What? I'm kidding!" Without further ado, Iggy pressed a button on the steering wheel, and the machine was surrounded by light. Through the windshield, he could see Celia approach Roy. While he couldn't hear what they were saying, he was skilled enough with reading lips to pick it up.

"Do you think we'll still be together in the alternate timeline?" Celia asked. Roy turned his head toward her, so Iggy wasn't certain what he had said. The last thing he could see through the windshield was Ludwig and Morton smiling at them, their eyes shining with tears. Then, the scenery vanished as the time machine was completely surrounded in light. Iggy didn't know how long this would take or even if it would work at all, but he was amazed to see that the light around the machine disappeared in less than a minute. Iggy and Larry slowly got out, and were greeted by the familiar sight of Iggy's lab. Larry turned to Iggy with a questioning look.

"Did it work?" Before Iggy could answer, the door to the lab was opened by Wendy, who was accompanied by the others.

"What's going on in here?" she asked. The others came down into the lab, all looking a little concerned. "We heard a noise."

Iggy studied his siblings. They were all the same. They were all exactly the same!

"Are you guys alright?" Ludwig asked as he floated toward Larry and Iggy. While it was obvious that he was feeling mainly concerned, all Iggy could feel was immense amounts of relief and joy.

"Yes," Iggy said. He wrapped his arms around the eldest. "We are alright."

"Better than alright," Larry said as he too wrapped his arms around Ludwig. Ludwig was so surprised by this amount of affection that he just seemed to freeze, his face stuck in a shocked expression. The other Koopalings looked the same way. After about a minute though, Lemmy shrugged and joined in on the hug with a smile. This prompted Wendy, Morton, and Roy to do the same.

"Oh Roy," Larry said as he pulled away from the group. "Twenty six year old you says hi."

The huddle broke apart. Everyone stared at Larry, baffled by his cryptic statement.

"Twenty six year old me?" Roy asked.

Larry's face dawned a mischievous smile, and Iggy looked similar. The others stared at them as they finally realized what Larry had implied. Roy removed his sunglasses, his eyes wider than planets.

"DID YOU GUYS GO TO THE FUTURE!?"

"Yes!" Larry squealed excitedly. The looks on the other Koopalings' face reflected that excitement.

"So the time machine works!" Lemmy exclaimed. "That's incredible!"

"It certainly is!" Morton said, his normally impassive face glowing with joy and awe. "What did you guys see there?"

It was then that Iggy and Larry's face fell.

"I think you guys had better sit down," Iggy said as he gestured toward the tables near the back of the lab. He and Larry proceeded to explain everything. Even though there were some parts of the story that Iggy would have preferred to have left out, both he and Larry knew that they couldn't spare their siblings the details. As they progressed further and further into the story, the excitement on their siblings' faces was replaced by horror.

"And then Larry and I got into the time machine and got back," Iggy finished. The room was filled with silence as Roy, Ludwig, Morton, Wendy, and Lemmy processed what was just told to them.

"Woah," Morton finally said.

"Yeah," Roy said. "That's…" Suddenly, his face broke out into a grin. "I'm not gonna lie, twenty six year old me sounds kind of cool!"

Larry snorted back a laugh as Iggy rolled his eyes. Lemmy and Wendy shared a look, a look of unease.

"I had no idea that such a future could even happen," Lemmy said. It was then that Iggy directed his attention toward Ludwig. Ludwig was beyond frightened, beyond horrified. He was staring down at his own hand, looking at it like it had been possessed by a demon.

"Ludwig," Iggy began softly. Ludwig closed his eyes and shook his head. He was at a loss for words. "I'm sorry."

Ludwig tried to do a breathing technique to calm himself down. Everyone looked at him, despite the fact that they knew that was the last thing he wanted. Ludwig hated having others see him in a position of vulnerability.

"I can't believe…" Ludwig began. He looked down at his hand again. He traced his fingers along the vein, where the source of his power lied. "I didn't know that it was possible for me to...to lose control like that."

Everyone looked at Ludwig. It wasn't pity per se that they were showing, but it was definitely sympathy of some kind.

"Ludwig, that whole thing happened because...because of something that will never happen," Larry said.

Ludwig let out a sigh.

"If it was possible in that timeline," he said. "Who's to say it can't happen in this one?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Iggy said, "since you are the oldest, you are statistically more likely to die before we do."

Ludwig snickered, but there was hardly any amusement attached to it.

"That's comforting," he said sardonically. Iggy slowly started to rise from his chair.

"Look," he began. "Let's say that, Heaven forbid, something like that did happen. But…" Iggy sighed, struggling to find the right words. "We might go through hardships, we might go through trials. We might lose; no, we _will _lose. But no matter what happens, there is something that our trials can't take away from us. And that…is the fact that we are a family." Iggy looked around the group at his siblings, meeting their questioning, fearful faces with a reassuring, confident smile. "And there is nothing that can change that. Whether it be good times or bad, celebration or trauma, life or death...nothing can stop us from being a family. We're more than just a septet; we are the Koopalings."

While the fear and discomfort in the room didn't go away entirely, the comfort and solace brought by Iggy's words were enough to make it look minimal. There was a moment of silence as some of the Koopalings repeated what Iggy said in their heads. It was enough to bring a smile to each of their faces.

"You know," Morton finally said after about a minute, "you guys haven't had a decent meal in about a decade. Would you like to have the chef make something?"

Iggy smiled. Morton had the right idea; he was trying to turn everyone's eyes away from the road for a bit. Sometimes it was best to just be in the moment, enjoy the simple parts of life to distract yourself from the complicated, scarier things.

"I would heavily appreciate that," Iggy said. With that the Koopalings started to make their way up the stairs out of the lab.

"I don't know about you guys, but I think waffles sound great right about now," Lemmy said cheerfully.

"Yeah," Larry agreed. "I just hope that the chef doesn't screw them up. I didn't travel ten years into the future and then come back just to have burnt waffles!"

Iggy chuckled slightly. Seeing how he was the last out, he was the one who got to close the door. He cast one final look at the time machine, and slowly closed the door with a smile on his face.

**AN: I have been planning this story for so long, and I am so glad that I got to put it to paper. As always, thanks so much to all of you for reading, and special shoutouts to FierySpyro for favoriting, LethalLemon and PinkRose0106 for following, and BunBunTanuki and LePurpleJoy for favoriting and following.**

**Now, seeing how Split Mindset is what you guys voted for in the poll, you are probably thinking that is what I am going to do next. And I will get to it; however, there is something I have to do first. Before I write Split Mindset, I need to rewrite Soul Swap. So, that means my next story will be Soul Swap Redux. If you guys are interested in that, I plan on uploading the first chapter tomorrow. Well, see you next time :)**


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